HFLR-20260517-1600

ទ្ទ្ទ្ទ្ទ ប្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រាន្រ ទ្ទ្ទ្ ទ្ទ្ទ្ទ.

Will the House please come to order.

At this time I am rolling Senate Bill 23 to tomorrow's calendar, and I'm also rolling the rest of the day's calendar to tomorrow.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the members go into limbo file to take up House Bill 36. The member from District 20 will explain the changes made by the other body.

President Gray. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. So, um, House Bill 36, um, was a bill to protect foster youth who were admitted to a psychiatric facility. The other body refined the language, accomplishing what the Supreme Court had asked for. The other body also added, at the request of the administration, the ability of the department to license foster treatment homes.

This would align Alaska with national standards and 49 other states. Those are the changes, and I agree with them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I recommend a yes vote. Mr.

Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House concur in the Senate amendments to House Bill 36, thus adopting Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill 36 Finance, and recommend the members vote yes. At ease.

Will the House please come back to order. Just a couple of quick— Items, Senate Bill 23 is being held in second reading. I thought that was made clear earlier and I did confirm with the Chief Clerk's Office that was the intention, but just to state it very unequivocally so you all know. Secondly, our plan is to do the concurrence votes and then we're gonna adjourn. So that's our plan tonight.

So we have a question before the body right now. I want to make sure everyone has been able to pull up the bill and are comfortable with voting. I'm seeing nodding of heads. So are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the House concur with the Senate changes to House Bill 36?

Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 40 yeas to 0 nays, the House has concurred with the changes to House Bill 36.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date— uh, be considered the roll call on the court rule changes.

Hearing no objections, so moved. Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move the court rule changes— correction, Mr. Speaker, I now move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call on the effective date clause. Hearing no objection, the effective date clause has been adopted.

Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall SCR 10 pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her votes? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 40 yeas, 0 nays, SCR 10 has been approved.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to ask unanimous consent that members go into limbo file to take up House Bill 93. The member from District 2 will explain the changes made by the other body.

Representative Himschutz. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a reminder for the body, House Bill 93 creates a clear, enforceable standard for residency for the purpose of hunting, trapping, and sport fishing.

The other body made one change to House Bill 93. They changed the effective date. The original bill was set to take effect a year out, but it didn't pass last year, so they were able to make the change to set it a full year out to take effect on January 1st, 2028. This change gives Alaskans a year to adjust to the new standard and gives us time to think about if we want to add anybody else for exemptions in the dividend. And I fully support the change.

I hope members will press the green button. Thank you. Mr. Major, Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House concur in the Senate amendments to House Bill 93, thus adopting Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill 93 Judiciary, and recommend the members vote yes. Please come back to order.

Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the House concur in the Senate changes to House Bill 93, thus adopting Senate Committee Substitute for House Bill 93 Judiciary? Members may proceed to vote. Will the clerk please lock the roll?

Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 24 Yeas, 16 nays. By a vote of 24 yeas to 16 nays, the House has concurred with the changes to House Bill 93. Mr.

Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move the effective date clause. Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the effective date clause be adopted? Members may proceed to vote.

The clerk, please lock the roll. Does any member wish to change his or her vote?

The clerk, please announce the vote. 33 Ayes, 7 nays. By a vote of 33 ayes to 7 nays, the effective date clause has been adopted. Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the members go into the limbo file to take up House Bill 117. The member from District 5 will explain the changes made by the other body. Representative Stutes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The original setnet language regarding cooperative deliveries and commingling of fish in setnet fisheries was removed and replaced with the following.

Language was inserted that directs the CFEC to create a new administrative area consisting of 6 statistical areas which make up the uniquely regulated Cook Inlet East Side Setnet Fishery. Also, language was inserted to give the Commissioner of Fish and Game the authority to establish an electronic monitoring program for trawl fisheries that occur in state waters. The EM program can only be instituted in finfish trawl fisheries, which is not the shrimp or scallop fishery, and will have no cost to our fishermen. And I agree with all of the changes made in the other body and hope that everyone will press the green button. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House concur in the Senate amendments to committee substitute for House Bill 117 Resources, thus adopting Senate committee substitute for House Bill 117 Resources, and recommend the members vote yes. Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the House concur in the Senate changes to Senate Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for Hospital 117 Resources? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote?

Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date clause.

Hearing no objection, the effective date clause has been adopted. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that Senate Concurrent Resolution 29, the title change resolution for House Bill 117, be taken up as a special order of business. Hearing no objection, are you ready for the question?

The question being, shall Senate Concurrent Resolution 29 pass the House? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 40 yeas to 0 nays, SCR 29 has been approved by the body.

Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the members go into limbo file to take up House Bill 52. The member from District 31 will explain the changes made by the other body. Representative Dybert. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The changes in the Senate version of House Bill 52 removes language related to reporting and notification practices that are contradictory, contradictory to established notification and confidentiality requirements.

It also updates the definition of chemical restraint to mean a medication that is used to control the behavior or to restrict the freedom of movement of a patient. Chemical restraint does not include the ongoing use of a medication for the treatment of symptoms of an underlying psychiatric illness. I agree with these changes and I urge a yes vote. Mr. Majority Leader.

Yes. I move and ask unanimous consent that the House concur in the Senate amendments to committee substitute for the committee substitute for House Bill 52 Finance, thus adopting Senate Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill 52 Finance, and recommend the members vote yes.

Will the House please come back to order? Representative Dibert, did I— did you had already spoken to And I'm trying to recollect where we left off late in the evening. Mr. Majority Leader, did you make your motion? I believe you did.

We're under discussion. I will recognize Representative Ruffridge first. Yeah, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I sadly am rising in opposition to concurrence today. This was actually a bill that I feel like I just spoke very strongly in support of not that long ago.

The The changes that were made in the other body are, I don't think, in the benefit of the bill, specifically in the lines regarding chemicals.

Chemical restraint. Uh, the previous iteration of the bill allowed there to be some flexibility, uh, in understanding that medicine is oftentimes blending the line between two different things. Dosing is really the, the difference between something that's used for some, uh, a treatment and something that's used as a restraint. Uh, and so under the current language, my concern is that chemical restraint now will be every single, uh, medication administered to anyone in a psychiatric facility. Which will create, I think, a lot of difficulty in reporting, a lot of over-reporting, a lot of unnecessary work on behalf of the department.

Whereas the previous language we had worked really hard on with the bill sponsor, uh, on drafting language that would really, I think, blend, uh, the— or have a line between those two things and not have such a difficulty in understanding what was happening there. I don't think the language that came back is, uh, do that, and so I will not be voting to concur today. Thank you. Representative Gray. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I worked with the member from Soldotna to craft the language for chemical restraint in the previous version, and I do like— I really did like our definition. However, I will vote to concur. I just— permission to read? Permission granted. So the new definition is a medication that is used to control the behavior or to restrict the freedom of movement of a patient Chemical restraint does not include the ongoing use of a medication for the treatment of symptoms of underlying psychiatric illness.

So I'm saying this out loud, really, looking at them, and I have to look at the speaker, but I want the member from Saldana to agree with me. So if we were talking about an antipsychotic medication like Haldol and they were taking it every single day, then that is a medication for the treatment of symptoms on a underlying psychiatric illness. However, if we give them a lot of Haldol, they will go to sleep and we have restricted their freedom of movement. I honestly think if you're giving the medication to restrict the media freedom of movement, it would have to be reported. It would be part of what this bill does is you would have to report that you have used this chemical restraint.

So I don't think that this bill is giving license I don't think we're gonna have extra reports. I think it's about what the medication is being used for. If it is used to restrict movement, and if it's used to control the behavior, then I think that, because we're talking about kids at an acute psychiatric or a residential psychiatric facility who are, quote, out of control and are being given a medication in that moment to put them under control. I think that this definition would work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Further discussion?

Representative Vance, please. I am so sorry.

I rise in reluctant opposition to concur, and I just want to make it clear, me voting not to concur is to send it to conference committee so that the differences can be worked out, because an amendment that, that was adopted in the House version included a statutory requirement for the department when they interviewed the minors to look for signs of abuse, whether that's physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, to notify law enforcement if necessary, to, to notify the appropriate departments, and specifically notify the parents so that they could find out what's going on with that, that minor. That language was removed, and by the, the change sheet, it says it removes language related to reporting and notification practices that are contradictory to established notification and confidentiality. I'm told that the department already does what I put in the amendment, but if it's contradictory to what's established, I think we have a problem, because in the documents with this bill, it had news reports of minors who were sexually abused while in these hospitals. I think that we definitely want to be making sure that the department is aware of that, that law enforcement is aware, and most definitely, most importantly, the parents are aware. The, the reason that minors go to these hospitals is because they are in distress to the level that parents are asking for assistance, and the department says they're already doing it.

But apparently, apparently there's abuses that are happening, and I find it disturbing that we're not going to put that in law. I simply don't believe that they're, they're going over and above, uh, what is, is required when it comes to the abuse of our kids.

I'm gonna— I am going to keep fighting to put it in law that it is required to go above and beyond to protect our kids from abuse. And so I like the idea of the bill. I know that it took a lot of work to get here, but we have one more step. Take it back to conference committee, get this language put back in there, fix the language when it comes to, to, uh, chemical restraints, and then we can pass a good bill.

Representative Bynum. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I just rise to see if I could ask a question of the bill sponsor, and that would be, you know, what communications were had with the Senate when they made this change with the other body. I'm sorry. Oh, sorry.

Yes, yes, my apologies. With the other body, Mr. Speaker, and what kind of communications they had with the sponsor of the bill and why they were making these changes and how they thought it might impact the bill. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Not seeing any further discussion. Representative Moore.

Sorry, Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this because language that is extremely important was removed, and I— permission to read? Permission granted. What was removed was chemical restraint does not include the ongoing use of a medication for the treatment of symptoms of an underlying psychiatric illness. That is removed, which means we can continue medicating based on movement, based on whatever someone deems inappropriate with no other guardrails. And so I think this is really reckless.

This is not good language to put in here. We need to be protecting our kids, and I think this does the exact opposite, and I urge a no vote.

Buddies.

Will the House please come back to order. Under debate on the concurrence vote for House Bill 52.

Is there additional discussion or debate? Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the House concur with the Senate changes to Senate Committee Substitute for Committee Substitute for House Bill 52 Finance? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 26 Yeas, 14 nays. By vote of 26 yeas to 14 nays, The House has concurred with the Senate changes to House Bill 52.

Mr. Majority Leader, do we need a brief at ease? No. Okay. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the members go into limbo file to take up House Bill 176.

But— brief at ease.

Yes, sorry, Mr. Speaker, I guess I did need a break. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote.

On the passage of the bill, we consider the roll call vote on the effective date clause. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw that motion. Mr. Speaker, I move the effective date clause. Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the effective date clause be adopted?

Members may proceed to vote. Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 32 Yeas, 8 nays.

With a vote of 32 yeas and 8 nays, the effective date clause has been adopted. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the members go into the limbo file to take up House Bill 176, and the member from District 35 will explain the changes made by the other body. Representative Kerik.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. House Bill 176 was amended in the other body to clarify that notice of a fee increase or introduction in this legislation will be sent a minimum of 30 days before a fee change when practicable. It also defines a mandatory fee as a system-wide or campus-wide fee. Those are the changes, Mr. Speaker. Mr.

Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House concur in the Senate amendments to committee substitute for House Bill 176. Yes. Education. Thus adopting Senate committee substitute for House Bill 176, Education, and recommend that the members vote yes. Are you ready for the question?

The question being, shall the House concur with the Senate changes to Senate committee substitute for House Bill 176, Education? Members may proceed to vote.

Will the clerk please lock the roll? Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 33 Yeas, 7 nays. By a vote of 33 yeas to 7 nays, the House has concurred with the changes to House Bill 176.

Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent to the roll call vote on the passage of the bill to consider the roll call vote on the effective date clause. Hearing no objection, the effective date clause has been adopted.

Mr. Majority Leader, I'm not sure if we have any more. One more. One more, shall we do it? Two more?

One more. One more, okay. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the members go into limbo file to take up House Bill 298. The member from District 14 will explain the changes made by the other body. Representative Galvin.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Just to remind the body, this is a legislative ethics bill, and there were minor technical changes made to add language in the other body that provides greater clarity and consistency throughout the bill while ensuring that the subject of a complaint may waive confidentiality at any point during in the complaint process during the campaign period.

And I urge a yes vote.

Mr. Majority Leader.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House concur in the Senate amendments to committee substitute for House Bill 298 Judiciary, thus adopting the Senate committee substitute for House Bill 298 Judiciary, and recommend that the members vote yes. Are you ready for the question? The question being, shall the House concur with the Senate changes to Senate Committee Substitute for Hospital 298 Judiciary? Members may proceed to vote. Will the clerk please lock the roll?

Does any member wish to change his or her vote? Will the clerk please announce the vote? 40 Yeas, 0 nays. By a vote of 40 ayes to 0 nays, the House has concurred with the changes to House Bill 298. Mr.

Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the roll call vote on the passage of the bill be considered the roll call vote on the effective date clause. Hearing no objection, the effective date clause has been adopted. Brief at ease.

Will the House please come back to order. Mr. Majority Leader. Mr. Speaker, I move and ask unanimous consent that the House stand at adjournment until Monday, May 19th— I'm sorry, May 18th at 9 AM. There being no objection, the House will stand adjourned until Monday, May 18th at 9 AM.